Over the Top: Brett's Brawlers Mission Contest

By Mitch Reed

It seems like I got an extra box of Bret's Brawlers from my work on the new Great War book that just came out. Instead of sending it back, the folks at Battlefront told me to give it away to someone who wants to get into the Great War period,  I am sure I could find many takers, however why not have some fun with this and create a contest that we all can enjoy?  So let's see what great ideas can come from our Flames of War community.


The Contest
Right now the new Great War book has a total of five missions, three of which are original Great War missions and two which are modified from the WWII period of the game.  I know that many of our readers have some great ideas which could expand this total and we want to see what ideas you have.

We are looking for an original mission just for the Great War period.  The winner gets the Bret's Brawlers box set and will have their submission released as a download from the folks at Battlefront. The runner up will not get the box, but will have their mission released to the public as well.  Seems like fun doesn't it?

Submissions
Each participant will need to submit their mission  to wwpdbrawlerscontest@gmail.com.

The mission should be
1. Great war focused; a mission that really represents the period.
2. Complete, make sure you look over the content of the current missions and address every section.   --The map does not have to be pretty but make it something we can understand.
-- What Great War or Flames of War Version 3 Special rules does it use.
--Type of battle, Mobile, Defensive, Fair Fight, Etc.
3. Unique, not a re-hash of a current or past FoW mission.
4. Playable; it should be challenging, fun, and balanced. It should also not re-write or modify the current rules.

Along with your submission please include some details about what gave you the inspiration to write the mission and why it would be a good Great War only mission.

Rules
1. You may turn in multiple submissions
2. No ringers please, folks writing content for Battlefront should let others get their ideas out
3. All submissions should be received by 11 PM (EST) on 11 November 2015.  A very fitting date and time.
4.Include your name and contact information with your submission.

The staff of WWPD will take the first cut on the submissions and send the finalists to Battlefront for them to pick the winner and runner up. We hope to announce the winner by end of November 2015.

Questions should be posted on the thread that goes with this article on the WWPD forums.  We will not be checking the email address very much during the contest.

When I say "Over the Top" I don't mean this! 

So lets see what ideas you  have and good luck.

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Product Review: Battlefront's Stoss Platoon

By Mitch Reed

One of the Great War platoons I was eager to have in my collection was the German Stoss Platoon.  The actual name of these forces was Stosstruppen which means "Storm Trooper" and represent Germany's late war answer to break the deadlock on the Western Front in 1918. These troops used infiltration tactics when attacking and bypassed forward enemy strong points in order to penetrate deep into the rear areas and attack artillery positions, supply points and headquarters.  The a major attack Stoss units were followed up by regular troops which had the duty to reduce the bypassed pockets of resistance.  Stosstruppen were usually formed into battalions that were assigned to infantry divisions and were in the first wave across from key enemy positions.  Along with the use of tanks, the Stosstruppen represent how the Great War ushered in a new type of warfare in the 20th Century.



The Stoss Platoon is available as a support platoon on the German Infantry Company list for 305 points for a full unit.  You can upgrade the command pistol team to a SMG team for 5 points and add a flamethower stand for an additional 45 points.  The Stoss Platoon are also the only unit rated as Fearless Veteran in the Great War game so far.  A full Stoss Platoon is composed of one command and six pistol  "Sturm"teams, with two MG teams.  The platoon has some great benefits, SMG and pistol teams hit on 2+ in assault combat, Tank Assault 3 rating,  and they do use the Mission Tactics special rule.  One possible drawback (besides the cost) is that if your force has the Stoss Platoon it becomes an Always Attacks list, however if you are the attacker your Stoss Platoon and all infantry platoons may make a Spearhead Deployment move at the beginning of the game.  The special rules really capture how these were used and what they were capable of very well.

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Painting the Beute Mark IV, and Great War List Making

By Mitch Reed

While luck has eluded me on the playing table, it did find me for the second week of the"Spot the A7V" Contest that Battlefront held via Twitter.

Since I already have both army box sets I decided to go for the Mark IV box, in order to paint one of the tanks as a captured Mark IV and the other one in standard British colors.  I got the box quickly, 2 days after Battlefront contacted me for my choice and shipping address. A big thanks to Battlefront for having the contest and shipping the item so quickly.

During the battle of Cambrai in November 1917 the British massed about 460 Mark IV tanks in their attack which initially pushed the German lines back.  As the attack stalled the Germans counterattacked and came into possession of numerous Mark IV tanks that were either knocked out or abandoned due to mechanical breakdowns. 

From these captured tanks the Germans pressed 40 into service the as the Beutepanzerwagen (Beute meaning "booty" in German), forming 4 companies of these captured tanks in December 1917.  The Germans increased the crew to 12 (British used 8) and replaced many of the 6-pdr guns on the Male version of the tank with German guns in order to better supply it with ammunition. 

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Bolt Action - Review: Trenchworx Mk V

At Historicon this year I was lucky enough to win a brand new TrenchWorx MkV WW1 British tank. This busty beauty is part of TrenchWorx current Kickstarter campaign that's now speeding along with the momentum of Brad after a bottle of tequila. Although I had not delved into World War One gaming before, when it came my time to saunter up to the prize table I knew the beauty I had my eye on.

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Biltz's Battlegroup Part 2: Support Options

Previously we looked at the core infantry and HQ options from Blitz's Battlegroup. Today we'll look at the support options, which include four Maxim HMGs, two Krupp infantry guns, and a pair of A7Vs.

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Biltz's Battlegroup Pt 1: The Infantry

By Scott

This week we'll take a peek at the Blitz's Battlegroup box set. First we're going to look at the HQ and Infantry platoons, and we'll look at the support options a little later. Plus, we'll have a bonus basing tutorial at the end!

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Bolt Action - Review: Trenchworx - Tanks of WW1 Kickstarter

Our friends at Trenchworx have an awesome Kickstarter going on right now.  For those of you who don't know Trenchworx has been 3D printing models for a while.  The costs for Trenchworx models range from reasonable to high, due to the cost associated with 3D printing.  With this new Kickstarter Trenchworx plans on taking 3D printed models and casting them so they can make resin versions of their tanks to help bring the price down.  The 3D printing process cuts modeling time significantly.  This allows Trenchworx to very quickly design their models on a computer.  This is Trenchworx first Kickstarter and they are starting with World War One tanks.  While some of these will not work in the current Bolt Action system,  it definitely work if you plan on adapting WW1 to Bolt Action.

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FoW Great War: Mitchell's Marauders pt II: The Support Platoons

In Part I, we looked at the core rifle platoons in the Mitchell's Marauders box set. Today we'll look at all the support options included.

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FoW Great War: Mitchell’s Marauders Part I: The Riflemen

We're going to talk a two part look at the Mitchell's Marauders box set (the upcoming 1500pt British box set for FoW Great War). First, we're going to look at the meat and potatoes of the set - the riflemen. In a later post, we'll look at the rest of the support options included. Part two will be posted on Wednesday, so make sure to check back!

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt IV- The Missions

by Eric Lauterbach and Steven MacLauchlan

The Great War Booklet contains three all new missions for the unique type of warfare representing WWI.  Also included are many new special rules designed to bring the feel of trench warfare to life...  but before you go anywhere there are some major changes right up front! First, all of the missions are played on a 4x4 table not 6x4 like normal, and the mission dictates where trenches go or even if they are present.  Another unique characteristic to WWI is that your army composition may decide if you attack or defend (as discussed in the overview).  Example if you choose “Stoss Platoons” you always attack, or if you choose “Field Batteries” you will always defend.  Of course there is still the roll off if you both end up the same. The missions presented in the booklet each use some (or all) of the following rules, reproduced in their entirety with permission from Battlefront.

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt II - Army Lists

The Great War takes the core Flames Of War game, and modifies it to better represent the fighting of 1918. In part II of our sneak peek into The Great War, we will dive more seriously into the two army lists and the rules that make them work.

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt I- The Overview

The Great War is a Flames of War supplement scheduled to be released with Wargames Illustrated 322. It is 36 pages in length and chock full of background information, army lists, and special rules that allow you to play German and British infantry companies in 1918.

The supplement starts with some brief background information on the Great War, with a very high level overview on the first four years. It quickly settles into 1918 and focuses on the British and Germans, culminating with some relatively detailed information on an armored fight at Villers-Bretonneux. But fear not, the supplement is mostly focused on the infantry fighting - it's not a "WW1 Tank Battles" as some folks had feared!

Getting into the army lists, there is one for the British and one for Germans. They are both classified as "infantry companies", although that doesn't mean as much as it does in FoW WW2 (more on that later!). Both options can come as regular Confident Trained troops or more battle-hardened Confident Veteran.

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Gaming the Great War: Part 2

Editors Note: In our last installment of Gaming the Great war Mitch gave you a general overview of the war up until 1918 along with some first thoughts on getting your Great War game on. Now, in this second and final installment we'll take a deep dive into the grand Allied offensives of 1918 and what makes that period so ripe for gaming.





By Mitch Reed

Part Three: The 100 Days, the Allies Strike Back.

After recovering from almost six months of German attacks, the Allies, now including the Americans launched a series of attacks in August of 1918 that lasted until the Armistice that became known as the “100 Days” or the “Peace offensives”.  This period saw all three of the Allies launching attacks simultaneously to push the Germans out of France and Belgium. While the French were limited in manpower and the Americans attacked recklessly intent on not heeding advice from the British and French, the British were the ones who adopted new tactics and weapons to break the deadlock.  To say “British” is almost misleading because it was the Canadian and Australian forces assigned to the British command that made the biggest impact in the closing days of the war.

German and Entente Advances in 1918, German in Red, Entente in Blue.

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Gaming the Great War, Part 1

By Mitch Reed

Overview

As a veteran gamer and someone with a big interest in the “Great War” (purists never call it World War One), I have gotten used to the fact that my two passions would seldom be combined.  However, 2014 being the centennial anniversary of the start of the Great War, many games are coming out and are filling this void including Battlefront which has plans to add another era to its line by introducing us to a system that covers the last stages of the war in 1918. 

While many have commented on the choice of 1918 as the choice for the new line, I think it is a much overlooked period in the Great War and has a unique flavor that sets it apart from the rest of the conflict.

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FOW 1918 - Arabs vs Turks

You are about to witness the earliest of Early War, where cheap tanks are not abundantly available, and machine guns were few and far between. A time when trenches were your lifeblood, and cavalry still roamed semi-effectively. This is FoW 1918. FoW1918 is a fan-made supplement with it's own series of army briefings and a few modifications on the FoW rules. The biggest change present in this Batrep is the AT of rifles and machine guns is only a one. This is to reflect the earlier style of ammo, being a softer, round shot. Chris, the owner of Huzzah and a major contributor to the WWI rules, is attacking with the Arabs in Fighting Withdrawal, against Alex, defending with the Turks. The Arabs have a chart to roll on for their motivation and skill ratings, but luckily Chris was able to get CT all the way around. For more information on FoW1918, visit http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/FOW1918/

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